New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2006.

Concentric Millefiori Paperweight

Designer Charles Kaziun

CultureAmerican

Dateca. 1960s

MediumGlass

DimensionsOverall: 2 1/8 in. (5.4 cm)

InscribedPolished bottom marked with a gold K.

Credit LineGift of Paul and Irene Hollister

Object number97.41.19

On View

On view

DescriptionThis is a colorless glass encasing millefiori on bright blue ground sprinkled with aventurine, with "Clichy" style rose cane at center, then a row of white star canes, then a row of star canes alternating with special design canes that include a shamrock, a heart, and a turtle; the outer ring repeats the white star canes.

Label TextConcentric Millefiori Paperweight by designer Charles Kaziun Gillinder & Sons Manufacturer 19th-Century Glass Paperweights No paperweights were made before the mid 19th century, when three developments converged to create an unprecedented flurry of letter writing among the middle classes and hence the need for paperweights: The new paper made from wood pulp (instead of rags) made paper plentiful and cheap; steel pens nibs replaced quills, making writing easier; and improved postal systems greatly reduced the cost of mailing letters. The first glass paperweights were made in 1845 by Pietro Bigaglia of Venice, who looked to the glass millefiori decorated spheres of Renaissance Venice. (Millefiori, which means "a thousand flowers" in Italian, is the technique whereby glass rods with designs running end-to-end are drawn out while hot into thin rods, then cooled and cut into small cross sections showing the design.) The great French factories - Baccarat, Clichy and Saint-Louis - began making paperweights almost immediately, and so successfully that French paperweights became the world standard. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Hollister 97.41.19ProvenanceMr. and Mrs. Paul Hollister; Gift of Paul and Irene Hollister to the Chrysler Museum of Art, 1997.